Daily minimum wage in Metro Manila has dropped to only about 41% of the amount needed for decent living

Amid calls for a wage increase, research group IBON says that the daily minimum wage in Metro Manila has dropped to only about 41% of the amount needed for decent living. This is less than the figure 10 years ago in 2001 wherein the minimum wage was about 52% of the cost to live decently.

According to IBON, the daily minimum wage of Php404 is just 2/5 of the estimated average family living wage (FLW) of Php988 in the National Capital Region (NCR) as of March 2011. The FLW is defined as the minimum amount needed for a family of six members to meet their daily food and non-food needs plus 10% allocation for savings. The latest FLW estimates are based on the 2008 FLW data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

In 2001, the daily minimum wage of Php265 was half of the amount a family needed to live decently at Php509. As the DOLE and the wage boards deliberate on whether to give a wage hike next month, research group IBON urges government to raise wages to a decent level and approximate the wage increase to the estimated family living wage. (end)